Nancy, Mom, Mason, and Jonathan.
The family trip to Pine Point Maine was moved forward two weeks this year to accommodate the incoming freshman orientation at Mary Washington University where Mason attend in the fall. Cindy arranged the shift in schedules with our assorted relatives that share the occupancy of the 100+year old cottage on the tidal flats on Jones Creek that allowed us to claim the first two weeks of August.
The airlines must jack up their prices into Portland, much like the summer rentals on the Point, as I couldn't find a decent fare when I booked our travel several months prior. So Jonathan and I flew into Providence via a red-eye through Cleveland to be picked up by Nancy Rose who has attained honorary membership in the King clan. Nancy picked us up at TF Greene Airport - her Prius packed with her beach supplies, suitcase, and the linens and towels we would need for the rental I arranged for our one-week stay. Traffic wasn't bad driving around Boston on I-495 until we got within five miles of I-95 where things bogged down from there, through New Hampshire and into Maine. Traffic cleared considerably when we got to the toll-paying section of the Maine Turnpike.
Once we found our rental - a converted garage behind a larger house on Ninth Ave - we sought out dinner nearby. Being Saturday most places were fairly packed, but we found a place on Pine Point Road next to the Congregational Church, the First and Last Tavern, that seemed to have an acceptable wait. The printed menu is what I described as "generic Italian", but when we were seated and our server began to recite the specials things got much more interesting. As I recall, Nancy and I both had the swordfish special and Jonathan an eggplant dish. Everything, from the portion, the done-ness of the pasta and vegetables, was spot on perfect - very enjoyable.
The Cook-Hines clan arrived that evening, checking into their rental that was two blocks closer to the Point that ours, while Cindy, Mike, Mason, Mom, Dad, and the two dogs (Kate and Gispert, the current rescue dachshund) arrived at the King cottage after 10pm. Robert and Adrienne arrived on Monday the 2nd, flying into Boston and driving up from there.
Nancy, Mom, Mason, and Jonathan.
M'lyn, Maddy, Devlin, Harris (behind Devlin), and Dad.
The clam diggers were out on the flats.
The clear weather provided for additions to the catalog of sunset photos across the marsh.
A similar shot by Jonathan that he especially likes, looks like many in the previously mentioned 'catalog.'
A slightly fuzzy image of Devlin at the tide's edge on the mudflats.
Devlin makes her way on the mudflats at the foot of the breakwater.
More mudflat exploration.
One last shot on August 1st.
Sunset on August 4th.
81 Jones Creek Rd: the latest addition to the King Compound on Pine Point.
The wind made the water choppy, but the sky was interesting on August 6th.
The light reflecting off the neighboring buildings - the red roofed building is part of Bailey's Lobster Pound.
More sky and sea.
The balance of the week was variations on eat breakfast, walk down the beach to the King cottage, watch the tide go out, eat lunch (usually the fabulous clam chowder from Salty Bay two doors to the west), watch the tide come in, eat dinner, and sleep. In other words, a perfect vacation. (I take a certain satisfaction that I never wore anything but flip-flops and shorts the whole time - the only exception was the donning of slacks to go into Portland for dinner at the Grill Room, still wearing the flip-flops.)
The main variations on the theme involved the lobster dinner and birthday cake for Jonathan and me on the 3rd, a trip into Portland with Jonathan, Nancy, and myself for dinner and visiting the Abacus Crafts Gallery, a trip to Borders with Maddy, Harris, and Devlin, a couple of visits to Len Libby's for ice cream, and a visit to the Scarborough town offices to discuss the zoning limitations of the property for sale across the street. The Cook-Hines', including Walter (M'lyn's dad), would drop in periodically at the King cottage on bikes or on the way to the beach. Walter, Diane, Mike and Mason hit the local golf course a couple of times also. Mason also took the girls out rowing in the tidal marsh, and partook of the pilgrimage to Palace Playland, the amusement park in Old Orchard that has been entertaining the young and young-at-heart in the family for many decades.
Ultimately, Cindy and I put an offer on the house at 81 Jones Creek Road, and at the time of writing this web page, are in the process of loan application aiming to close the deal on Cindy's birthday - September 20th. The house is a converted garage that was once part of a larger parcel that included the house on the corner of Jones Creek Road and Avenue 5, and the converted barn on Avenue 5 that was once owned by my great aunt Etta, whose descendents, the Kerrs, own the cottage adjacent to the King cottage on the water. The house we are purchasing has a main living/dining area and kitchen on the first floor, and three bedrooms and a full bath upstairs.
We found out from the zoning office that there was no way to add a deck of any sort to the front or sides of the house, and a roof deck was problematic. Despite the limitations, we decided to have a go at the property and after a couple of exchanges with the seller settled on a price. The home inspection revealed the usual issues with a structure of this age and origin, so the deal proceeds without impediment so far.
We'll probably rent the place for June and July, and keep August for family usage. [A note well after the fact - we didn't.] Jonathan would like to visit off-season (e.g. September and October) but we'll have to see if we can rent the place off-season, or prefer to keep the place vacant.
Our rentals' check out time was Saturday morning so the Cook-Hines clan as well as the Lubin-King-Rose party had to vacate on the 7th. The night before, we ordered out pizza from the First and Last Tavern, and had a going away celebration. I took a few pictures, but because of the light and the fact I left the polarizing filter on (reducing the light), the shutter speed wasn't fast enough and all of the pictures came out fuzzy.
After saying our goodbyes Saturday morning, Nancy, Jonathan and I drove back down to Kingston RI to spend the night at Nancy and Ellen's house. We got to visit some with Ellen (a chef at the local country club) although it was brief as summer is the busy season for her. Nancy drove us to the airport the next day, and we flew back to LA via Cleveland again.
